The Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of XXXX is my first choice for graduate school. I hope to begin this coming summer of 2018. I live in XXXX, SC, serve as a nurse in the Neuroscience ICU at XXXX Health, and travel around surrounding areas. I want to specialize in Adult-Gerontology Acute Care because of the profound sense of fulfillment I feel when caring for my adult, acutely ill patients. I like that UXX at XXXX is close to home, even though most of the program is online.
I am a strong candidate for your program as a fully multilingual and multicultural, Indigenous, Mexican American nurse for whom caring for others has always been central to my life. I grew up in a small town in Oaxaca, México. Oaxaca is one of the Mexican states with the highest number of Indigenous people like me. My parents speak Mixteco as their first and only language, and it is the family's language on those rare occasions when we are all together. My mother, still in Mexico, does not speak Spanish, and my father in the USA does not speak English even though he is now a citizen. Thus, I have long served as a communication center for my family.
My older sister studied nursing in Oaxaca City. However, our family was struck by tragedy when she became ill in 2005 with a rare and complex disease that initially defied diagnosis. This was my introduction to health care at the age of thirteen, going with my sister to the hospital and translating everything back to my parents in Mixteco. Despite the best of our efforts, my sister passed away in 2009. I followed my father to the USA and became a permanent resident in 2007. My mother and other family live in a small town called San Juan Mixtepec, Oaxaca, México. Thus, I look forward to contributing to the diversity of your MSN Program at the University of XXXX as a Mexican person, a Latina, and a Native American.
My sister’s illness was terrifying, especially because it progressed rapidly, and we did not even know what it was. We consulted with numerous doctors, including a neurologist, a cardiologist, and an endocrinologist. Each gave a different diagnosis related to their areas of expertise. I was confused; we were all justifiably terrified. Various surgical options were offered, including pituitary tumor recession, open-heart surgery, lobectomy, and kidney transplant. From 13 to 15 years old, I studied alongside my sister, seeking to arrive at a diagnosis, and we decided that all the evidence pointed toward Cushing’s Syndrome, a common and treatable condition, which my sister would never recover from and would be dead within a few years.
She became severely depressed and attempted to commit suicide several times. Leaving my sister and coming to America after the USA approved my application for permanent residency but not hers was the hardest thing I have ever done.
One morning during my senior year in high school in the USA, I was told my sister had passed away. I was utterly devastated. My best friend was gone. Everything was a blur, but that day I was on a flight to Mexico to say goodbye as best I could. Then I came home and went right back to school. This experience helped make me mature and serious for my age, and I buried myself in my studies to become a nurse, helping others get through many of the most challenging times in their lives. I put myself through college working full time, and I now give every inch of myself to nursing and helping my community. I have seen the stress that acute illness brings to patients and families. And I’m also fully aware of the stress caused by the language barrier. I want to become an adult-gerontology critical care nurse practitioner to help provide care to Adult-Gerontology acutely ill patients and their families. Being fully English/Spanish bilingual, I look forward to practicing nursing in both languages.
Entirely devoted to lifelong education, I plan always to continue improving and advancing my career in Nursing. I am currently an active member of the American Nurses Association, the XX Nurses Association, and the Critical Care Nurses Association. I am working on my certification in Critical Care, and I have four years of bedside experience in our Neuroscience ICU. I have also served as a preceptor for new nurses. I always remind myself why I chose this career and constantly strive to improve the care I give to my patients.
Thank you for considering my application to the University of XXXX at XXXX.